US Wine Retailers Grapple With Prices Hikes, Fear Customer Loss From Tariffs

By Rachel Suleymanov

Wine retailers in the United States are being hit with tariff-induced price hikes, pressuring businesses in an already-struggling industry to pass along costs to consumers.

Price increases at the wholesale level are reaching as high as 20%, leaving little room for retailers to try to swallow rising prices stemming from recently unveiled US import tariffs, some industry experts said.

“I'd like to eat some of the tariff cost, but because I need to cover increasing expenses, it's not really doable,” said Paul Janeczko, Owner of Eight & Driggs Wine and Liquors in New York City. More than 80% of wine purchased in the US comes from France, Italy and other European countries. As US President Donald Trump unleashed a rash of tariffs on trading partners this year, the European Union agreed to a 15% levy. That tax is paid by US businesses, or eventually consumers, when the products arrive on US shores.

The American wine industry has been trudging through demand shortages for the past few years, making it wary of price changes that ward off precious consumers. With little attention from Gen-Z and growing health concerns around alcohol consumption, the industry is projected to continue its downtrend in sales growth, according to Wine Business Analyst, Rob McMillan.

 Eight & Driggs Wine and Liquors 

The Trump administration’s 15% tariff on European wine imports stands to further deflate the industry which generates around $16.4 billion in profits, according to Ignacio Sánchez Recarte, Secretary General of the Committee of Wine Enterprises.

“It’s going to cause economic havoc,” said Ben Aneff, President of the U.S Wine Trade Alliance. 

For retailers like Brooklyn-based Janeczko, American wine distributors have increased prices—in some cases, upwards of 20%—forcing him to price bottles in his shop with a similar markup. 

“A specific Portuguese wine, for example, was selling at $20 a bottle. Now we have it for $24. It's a big difference for customers, especially.”

Janeczko says if bottles sit at uncomfortable price points for customers, he thinks they will be replaced with cheaper, lower quality alternatives. He projects customers will really begin to feel tariff effects in 6 months.

“It probably won't really hit consumers for another half a year,” says Janeczko, “this is just the very beginning.” The Trump administration, for its part, says the tariffs are an effort to shore up trade imbalances and encourage Americans to shop locally. For many wine lovers, even the best American products can't replace top-tier European counterparts.

Up until now, business owners have been able to stave off steep price hikes, partially thanks to inventory stockpiling before Trump’s election. Janeczko himself is sitting on half a million dollars worth of wine in inventory, his financials indicate. Normally, he’d be below $300,000.

Wine imports surged as early as October 2024, says Jennifer Ely, Director of Key Accounts at Elenteny Imports.

“We saw an increase in imports back in October of last year with the political understanding that if Donald Trump won the election, tariffs would be enacted immediately,” says Ely. “The conversations were, ‘Either I import wine or I close up shop.’” 

But swollen inventory cannot save business owners like Janeczko from decreasing revenue, an issue stoked by rising overhead and utility costs and a notable absence of foot traffic from tourists.

“We've been fortunate enough that, in this neighborhood, people are spending a bit more on average,” says Janeczko, “but not enough to cover the fact that we're losing that good customer base that we used to have from tourism.”